Christian Lindner announces reform of start-up investments

This is his response to an incendiary letter from more than a dozen founders.

In a letter, Christian Lindner holds out the prospect of a reform of employee share ownership, among other things. This is reported by the Handelsblatt. This is his response to an appeal from more than a dozen founders who wrote to the Federal Minister of Finance at the beginning of the week. Their criticism was that the traffic light coalition was only protecting established industries and companies.

One of the specific demands from the founders' letter was a new regulation for employee shareholdings. This concerns the tax burden on shareholdings without a direct cash flow. In Germany, employees are not allowed to sell their shares before the IPO or sale of a start-up. In the letter quoted by Handelsblatt, Lindner announces that he will present key points for an amendment to this law "in the near future". He does not specify a concrete date.

Other demands from the start-up scene include faster visa procedures for foreign specialists, more growth capital, a reform of pension provision and greater commitment from the federal government in general. According to Linder, many of the points are to be implemented in an announced Future Financing Act. In addition to these demands, the Federal Minister of Finance is also promising easier access to the capital market for start-ups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises.